Like its online customer experience, Amazon’s new retail space is driven by customer data and consumer-to-consumer reviews. Books are displayed according to reviews and purchase histories of Amazon’s Seattle-area customers. Prices are the same both in store and online.

These cross-channel consistencies bode well for Amazon. But brick and mortar is brand new territory. And success isn’t a forgone conclusion. In the past 20 years, nearly every major brick-and-mortar bookseller (Waldenbooks, B. Dalton, etc.) has caved to Barnes & Noble.

Can Amazon really pull this off?

Apple faced the same question back in 2001.

The Unlikely Success of the Apple Store

When Apple opened its first store 15 years ago near Washington, D.C., skeptics said it wouldn’t succeed.

Apple’s problem is it still believes the way to grow is serving caviar in a world that seems pretty content with cheese and crackers.

I give them two years before they’re turning out the lights on a very painful and expensive mistake.

How wrong the skeptics turned out to be. Today, Apple’s 650+ stores serve a million customers a day and generate more sales per square foot than any other retailer—despite the fact that retail foot traffic is down overall.

So why are Apple stores such a huge draw? Is it the cult appeal of the Apple brand? Stellar customer service? The physical environment itself?

Friendly, Knowledgeable, Engaged Staff

Apple Store employees provide a one-of-a-kind brand experience for both curious visitors and repeat customers. The Apple Store’s ultimate help desk, Genius Bar, is an appointment-only “concierge service” that troubleshoots and fixes devices and helps familiarize buyers with their new purchases. Apple “geniuses” also alert customers to new Apple products, and floating sales associates are always on hand and happy to explain features and answer questions.

Intentional Design

Steve Jobs was meticulous about design aesthetics. He modeled the Apple Store after large public gathering spaces such as libraries—bright, expansive centers of learning and exploration. Apple stores are simple and transparent: lots of glass, lots of light, very little flair, and plenty of room to play with Apple gadgets.

A Focus on Experiences, Not Products

Back in 2004, Apple’s VP of retail said the company’s goal was not to make the Apple Store “about the product, but about a series of experiences that make it more than a store.” Apple has fully embraced and excelled at experience retailing, hosting in-store events such as kids’ day camps, live music, and expert presentations.

What’s in Store for Amazon’s Store(s)?

Both Amazon and Apple are disruptive innovators with huge market share and a devoted customer base. Both brands are willing to try new things, and they learn from their failures. But even for these industry goliaths, brick-and-mortar retail presents a unique set of challenges.

Will Amazon mimic Apple’s success? Will its bookstores become retail destinations? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Most retailers build locations. A select few, like Apple, create destinations. They drive customers to their stores, and they give them reasons to show up again and again.

Kevin is passionate about retail, specifically aligning a brand’s expectations of their customers’ experience with consistent execution in-store. With expertise in leading clients toward a transparent omnichannel (on-line, in-store, call center and mobile) experience, Kevin and the ICC/Decision Services team work with clients to define the desired customer experience and use a suite of tools (including Mystery Shopping, Customer Satisfaction Surveys and Customer Intercepts) to measure that experience.